Category: Less Waste

Welp, so I’ve thought it up. A new diet that promises weight-loss for those who are on the heavier side struggling to lose weight. A diet that I think will really work wonders for most of America. And the premise of the diet does not rely on ingredients or organic produce or additives in the form of powders and things. In fact, the diet does not even tell you what you should and should not eat. Revolutionary, I know. The diet only has one requirement, and it is this: No food that you purchase may come in plastic packaging.

That’s it.

The true secret to how Mike and I stay skinnier than a pair of ski poles.

I get what you’re probably thinking. Another promised cure-all solution, with a side of a rolling of the eyes. No. Not a cure-all. It’s not going to make skinny people more skinny. It’s not going to cure diabetes. It’s not going to make scrawny men buff, or short children grow tall. But, it is going to be a healthy lifestyle shift that may help those who are considered overweight and are having difficulty losing a few pounds.

How does the zero plastic diet work?

Committing to eating only foods sans plastic requires you to eliminate a lot of the unhealthy substances that many Americans consume.

For example,

Frozen foods and all their preservatives

Chips, snacks, cookies, candies, candy bars and other junk foods that are store bought and laden with even more hidden unhealthy ingredients, most of which are non-naturally occurring

Cereals, pre-made pastas, and white bread, none of which are actually healthy

Low fat yogurts, ice creams, et cetera

Most fast food restaurants or quick dine-in options

Processed foods such as bagged spinach, cut vegetables, roasted nuts

Pre-made soups and stock, usually swimming in sodium

These are just a few of the worst foods to eat, and all are packaged in plastic. The zero plastic diet works because if you want to eat cereal, you have to buy granola in the bulk section of the store. If you want to eat bread, it’s better to buy grain and make it fresh yourself. If you want to drink juice, you squeeze fresh oranges. If you want to eat meat, you’d have to opt for fresher cuts rather than the pre-packaged (likely pre-frozen) ones. If you want to eat fruit and veggie, you’ll need to grab fresher produce from a Farmer’s market (you know, the kind that goes bad in a few days?) rather than plastic packaged ones at Trader Joe’s that mysteriously last forever. If you want pizza, you’ll have to use the fresh produce and bread dough that you just made instead of heating up frozen pies. You learn to make chili from fresh beans and spices, and hummus is healthier made from chickpea, olive oil, lemon and garlic (ONLY!). And although there are non-plastic to-go places that we STILL go to, that one extra step makes fast food less accessible, which also translates to less frequently eaten.

This diet works because it cuts out all the hidden chemicals and preservatives and sugars and sodium and god-knows-what-else that we don’t even know exist in the food that others pre-package and pre-prepare for us.

This diet works because we are in control of what we eat.

This diet works because maybe we have to forego the cheese occasionally when we can’t find a way to get it without plastic packaging. Sometimes we have to forgo dairy, or meat. Sometimes, the only plastic free option until the next Farmer’s market or trip to the butcher is, well, veggie.

So this diet requires one to eat healthy. Why is it better than other diets?

Well, in my mind, the reason why other diets don’t work, is because it promises new solutions to weight loss. Innovative ones that we are putting our bodies through, albeit haphazardly, in a game of trial-and-error. Keto, paleo, organic, sugar-free… and the food industry plays on all of these new diets and creates NEW products that promise alternatives to all the things we are trying to cut out. The problem is, all of these new alternatives have been un-tested by any length of time. But what the zero plastic diet gives you is a diet that forces you back to the olden ways, of yore. The foods that our species have had plenty of time to adapt to. The one our bodies actually embrace. See also: Perhaps Gluten Isn’t to Blame. Our bodies, they don’t evolve overnight. They don’t even evolve over a few decades. We are not THAT adaptable. And we are introducing new alternatives at a fast clip ever since the Industrial Era, which frankly, wasn’t too long ago. Our bodies will not cannot change as fast. In fact, they will become intolerable to the changes.

At the end of all this raving, I guess I’m not hear to say that this is for everybody. I am only here recording what has worked for us. In an effort to reduce plastic, I’ve discovered that we’ve lost the extra weight that has been following us around since our beer-filled college nights, and then maintained a consistent number on the scale for the past year and a half. We don’t exercise although we really should as I’m sure our muscles are wasting away. We eat a good amount of food and don’t count calories or ration out portions. We aren’t gluttonous by any means, but we never leave the table hungry. The only thing we’ve done is to eliminate plastic packaging. So maybe it’s worth a try for those who are sick of substituting sugars, cutting out starches, calculating calories and rationing out portions. It’s a very simple approach to dieting, and one that your body (and the planet) will thank you for.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

I’d be the first to admit that in an effort to rid our house entirely of plastic waste, I’ve been neglecting many aspects of skin care, and after a year and a half of doing so, it has started to show. In all honesty, walking down aisles of grocery stores in search of self-care products can be a bit nauseating for the environmental enthusiast. Almost every bottle promises some magical cure packaged in plastic capsules, listing a number of chemical compounds that stray far from being natural. Not a big fan of beauty products anyway, I decided it would be easier to rid my life of this added complexity by just ousting the need to buy. And while that has worked well with some aspects such as make-up routines, and substituting bars of soap and refillable aluminum bottles for daily necessities such as shampoos, conditioners, and lotions, I’ve found that when it comes to facial skin care, my skin has suffered and has started to rebel.

Admittedly, this past winter in California was the driest that we’ve had in a while. I woke up some nights with an itchy throat that needed clearing, and made a habit of having a glass of water by my bedside easily within reach. I recognized the dryness when our adopted toothless cat started to have asthma attacks in the evenings, waking us up and worrying us to death. And I couldn’t deny it any more when my facial skin started to itch, form a rash, and flake, when it has never reacted like that before.

Part of the irritation lies in the fact that I wear a dental mask every day, and the itchiness is localized around where my mask touches my skin. A visit to a dermatologist told me that it’s nothing that a good skin care routine couldn’t fix. She prescribed me a routine that required buying moisturizers, facial cleansers, sunscreens and ointments in plastic bottles, and at first I resisted. The resistance only lasted so long until my body signaled with fervor that it’s in need of some attention. Eventually, I did get her prescribed regimen, and I saw some improvement right away. My skin seemed satisfied, but I was not. I could not, in good conscience, bear to buy another round of plastic bottles filled with chemicals.

Then I remembered that when we went to Melbourne in January, we stayed at an apartment that was furnished with only amber glass bottles. I quickly started researching Aesop and was quite pleased with what I found. Packaged in those amber bottles were little doses of formulations created with meticulous attention to detail for one’s body needs. Their focus was to source plant-based ingredients mixed with lab-made ingredients that have proven record of both safety and efficacy. Headquartered in Melbourne, I was glad to learn that they had a store here in Southern California.

Searching for something to soothe sensitive, dry skin, the knowledgable staff at the store was able to guide me towards a selection of bottles lined up on their walls, but only after offering me tea and refreshments. They then helped me sample the products and the experience was akin to being at a spa and being waited on hand and foot. They massage the oils into your hands while talking you through the best treatment methods and tips. They detail the differences in ingredients and explain why each one has a purpose. Every item smelled heavenly, and best of all, they were packaged in glass! The only plastic to be seen are the caps and lids, which is much better than the alternative options. Plus, when you take them home, they are sent home in beautiful linen bags that can be re-purposed for such things as jewelry bags and stationary tool kits.

Off course, the price point is a little bit higher, but to be honest, not much different from the prescribed routine by my dermatologist. And you may call it a misperception due to my obvious affinity towards the brand, but I do believe it worked wonders much better then the Western medicine that was prescribed. Either way, I received these as gifts and took them home with care. Using them in my own bathroom elicited the same type of spa-quality that I experienced in store due to the fresh aroma and high tactile quality of the products. Lighted candle use, optional.

It’s been a while since I’ve touched on the topic of less waste, but there’s nary a day when I don’t think about our environmental impact nor is there a day that I haven’t spent every fiber of my being to reduce my own carbon footprint. We’ve cut our plastic purchases drastically since starting this intentional life, refusing to buy groceries in plastic packaging, avoiding takeout, and carrying our own reusable cups, utensils, and to-go containers. But still, I wanted something next level. What many people view as waste is actually a source of nutrients. The only real waste is the by-product of non-organic and non-biodegradable stuff, which we’ve tried to cut out of our life. Now that we’ve limited non-organic materials in our household, it’s time I turned my eyes, and this blog’s attention, towards composting.

It isn’t something recent. I have been in search of composting options in Orange County for almost a year. Tales of composting services in grander metropolitan cities had me enamored. I was imagining a life of compost bins in freezers with weekly (or monthly, I’m not picky) pick-up services. I was drooling over the idea of a local drop-off site that I could walk to. Alternatively, dreams of connecting with local farmers as I help create fertilizer for their fields materialized.

Unfortunately, those thoughts were immediately dashed upon the realization that there are no public composting options in Orange County, AT ALL. I had called the Department of Waste Management, admittedly on multiple occasions, only to be told that there is no current existing composting service and neither will there be one in the near future. I asked the HOA if we could create a composting program in our community. I reached out to local farms, and despite having their own composting activity at their site, they could not welcome more composting from the public due to limited facilities. I read, called, spoke, to no avail. It was time to take matters into my own hands.

We currently live in a two-story loft with no land of our own. Research regarding composting generally led to the reminder that we are lacking garden space (see also: fruit and vegetable garden patch dreams). And while I’ve come across posts on how to compost in a plastic bin numerous times, I had my doubts. Yet, here I am. Desperate times, I suppose. Or rather, it’s about time I stopped wallowing and started doing.

As with any first-time experimental venture, I did “extensive research”, which really only entailed googling the words “at-home-compost” (or something to that effect) and reading the first few websites. Thankfully, a sweet girl that I had met at a local farm tour dedicated some time to walk me through the entire process and patiently answer my questions. She began the conversation with, “For many people, it is very difficult to get composting to work in an apartment space.” Challenge accepted.

I purchased a lidded plastic bin (the irony doesn’t escape me), with drill holes in the bottom of it that remains open to another tub that catches, who knows what. Dirt perhaps? Runaway worms?

Oh yeah. That’s the part I forgot avoided to mention. It’s a worm bin. I took some dirt from the aforesaid farm’s existing composting site at the lovely girl’s suggestion, in the hopes that I’d also gather some hidden worms in the process. To my dismay, they weren’t so hidden. To my other dismay, they also weren’t quite enough, which then required me to purchase worms from a farm supply store in Orange County. I picked up 300 Red Wiggler Worms, and the name itself gives me the goosebumps. I’m not the girliest of girls, but snakes and eels are my biggest fears, and worms and other legless things are close contenders. But they are enthusiastic eaters, eating their weight in waste per day, so I knew they had to be the ones. I walked away from the farm supply store holding a bucket of worms at arm’s length. That’s how determined I was, yet not so determined that I didn’t wait for my husband and roommate to get home before having THEM do the transferring of worms from one bucket to the other.

Before detailing how to fill the bin, may we dissociate from what can and cannot count as compostable materials? Two types of waste can enter the bin: green waste and brown waste. Green waste includes things like coffee grinds (aplenty at our residence), egg shells (a common by-product of a baker), and vegetable and fruit peels and scraps. It is imperative to point out that not all food waste can go into a composting bin. Meats, dairy products and oils are foods that one must avoid putting in the bin. Brown waste, on the other hand, involves things such as egg cartons, cardboard, paper, and dead leaves fallen from indoor and outdoor houseplants. It should go without saying that anything with a plastic film cannot be de-composted.

Setting up the bin is theroretically easy. It involves a layering process. The formula that I followed was a layer of brown waste at the bottom, followed by a layer of dirt from the farm. I then placed a layer of green waste, followed by Red Wiggler worms. After the worms, I added a layer of moist brown waste that covered the bin entirely and was at least 2-3 inches thick.

Subsequent additions to the compost bin require a layer of green waste, topped by 2-3 inches of brown waste. Since our bin has limited space for a household of three people, we maximize our layers by placing a bowl in the freezer to collect green waste over the course of a week. The freezer keeps the green waste from rotting until we add it to the bin. Junk mail and egg cartons as well as cardboard have been sufficient in providing the necessary brown waste, which we collect in an old shoe box in the garage.

Aforementioned research indicates that frequent turning of the soil will improve the de-composting process. We plan to turn the soil at least once a week, just before adding more green waste, using a trowel. For the brave, bare hands or a stick will do.

Airflow is equally important. By using brown waste that are a bit bulky (shredded newspapers and weirdly shaped egg cartons), we allow air flow to occur. We never mash down the brown waste when we add it. I have also read that too much of one thing will prevent a successful compost bin. You don’t want a bin dedicated entirely to coffee grinds. It’s helpful to add a variety of green waste, to provide a large array of nutrients to the soil.

So now the question to address is where to keep such a bin in a tiny home? Suggestions included underneath the sink, but the thought of flies and bugs and worms in the kitchen will prevent me from peaceful sleep. Another suggestion was outdoors, but since we only have a tiny balcony, we decided against it. Plus, I think outdoor bins may attract more bugs and flies than indoor bins. Eventually, we settled on the garage, in the hopes that people were honest in saying that composting does not result in flies or stray worms. Only time will tell.

Overall, the process to set up was easy. I think the hard part comes next. Just as learning to understand plant growth takes time and experience, so too will composting have a learning curve. Some cons include limited space in our bin, which may run out more quickly than in other households considering how we cook everything from scratch. Another downside is the need to spend money in order to get this set up. It isn’t expensive by any means, but it isn’t free either. Lastly, the need to purchase a bin of some sort irks me. Plastic seems to be the best material, but I haven’t calculated whether the composting process would offset this initial ‘investment’, if successful.

Updates coming your way soon.

For those in OC wondering where we got our bin, visit the ecology center in SJC.

I recently wrote about how we could use gifts as a way to change younger generations’ perceptions of STUFF, but today, I want to share how we (now) can use gifts to help shape the tomorrow we want to see. Here are some gift ideas to help those around you curb their waste in the new year. Not only could it save them money by eliminating single use items from their grocery lists, it could do the environment a world of good.

I am not one to take in an eye-sore kindly. I would call that one of my biggest flaws. Things just have to be aesthetically pleasing to be pleasing to me. For that, I am sorry. So when it comes time to start putting presents under the tree, it follows that I cannot just shove them there, unwrapped. It isn’t that I feel the need for another person to be surprised, although surprises are quite nice. It’s that I need the presents to look cohesive, for my own sanity. Which brings me to the following dilemma: less waste for a time of the year when gifts abound.

Last year, I wrote about the art of furoshiki gift wrapping, as a means to produce absolutely zero waste by using excess fabric lying about the house. But after a year has come and gone, I am without any more fabric left to wrap gifts in. It appears that everyone wanted to keep the fabric pieces for their own re-use. This year, I find a not-so-perfect zero waste (zero-ish waste? less waste?) solution from the following:

+ Less gifts, in general. Call me Einstein, but with less gifts comes less gift wrap, and therefore, less waste. This year, I have narrowed down our gifts to ten. That includes required Secret Santa’s at work and holiday parties, and our most immediate family members. Part of this comes from our public renouncement of the gifting of material things, right this way.

+ Simple methods of wrapping. One of the very first memories I have of being conscious of my wasteful lifestyle involves wrapping gifts at Christmas time. I was 20 years old and I had volunteered to help my aunt wrap the gifts for my cousins (all forty-something of them). I was previously taught by my mother how to make gifts look pretty by adding in additional folds in the wrapping paper and using multiple bows. By scrapping sticker tags when my hand-writing was too ugly to bear. I went about my usual methods of wrapping gifts when my aunt questioned why I was folding the wrapping paper in such a way. I replied, “Because it looks pretty.” To which she laughed and said, “It wastes paper.” Confused, I didn’t understand why that mattered. Off course, my mind mulled the comment over and over again in my head as I continued to wrap. By the end of the wrapping session, I was embarrassed at the waste of gift wrap that I had cost my aunt. I was embarrassed of my frivolous lifestyle. And I saw a glimpse into the world of minimalism that I had yet to discover. Nowadays, I just wrap the paper once around, barely enough to cover the good, and call it a day. A more refined self finds this way of wrapping more attractive anyway.

+ Simple materials. I avoid plastic as if I was allergic to it, that you may already know. These days, I find comfort in choosing materials that are natural, biodegradable, or at the very least, recyclable. For Christmas this year, I’ve stuck with twine, string, paper wrap (the non-glossy kind), brown boxes, and re-usable stamps. The color scheme itself is simple, making it easy for me to satisfy my need for cohesiveness. To fill excess spaces in the boxes, I’ve opted not to purchase tissue paper, but rather, use left-over packing paper that has survived our move into our new home a few months ago.

+ Less wrapping of the gift wrap themselves. If I have to buy gift wrap in order to appease my need to have everything look cohesive, may it be the least-dressed gift wrap there is. This tip goes out to the minimalist (or minimalist hopefuls), to the environmentalists, to the pursuers of mindful living. This year, I went to a local stationary store (and by local, I mean I live across the street from it), and chose a brown paper gift wrap rolled up sans one of those cardboard rolls that you typically find in the center of a tootsie pop wrapping paper. Additionally, it was not wrapped up in cellophane, as they usually are. It was held together by a piece of paper detailing the company from which it came. I also purchased paper tape, with a little green decorative charm, holiday-esque enough to spruce up plain brown boxes (see what I didthere?). I purchased yarn that was wound around a cardboard roll, and without the plastic covering (why are they even necessary?!). Lastly, I whipped out my wooden stamp collection and cut up a piece of sketch pad paper to make the name tags. All of this to say, it doesn’t take much to appease my need for pretty. We don’t have to indulge our presents in excessive gift wrap, but I am completely okay with allowing myself something simpler. It’s not perfectly zero-waste, but we can’t always be beating ourselves up for their inabilities to be perfect. We are, after all, human. The point is, we try.

How many times can one hear me babble on about the need to reduce waste? Not endless, I presume. But hear my out, just one more time. I want to invite you to join me in keeping the world neat, but not quite in the same way I have before.

Past blog posts were all about ways you could reduce waste at home. Mostly, how to reduce plastic consumption, and alternatives to single-use plastics. However, I get that most people feel as if that doesn’t make much of a difference. What impact can one person’s actions actually have? While I am a non-believer in the word negligible, I can see why some people will feel as if removing plastic completely out of their lives will be a lot of work, for “very little outcome”. We define an action’s worth based on the results. The trouble is that the results are not very easily seen. Who will actually see how keeping one plastic ring that holds soda cans together out of the ocean can prolong a turtle’s life? The effects of our actions may not be visible, but it does not mean they don’t exist. But since results are better convincers for most about the need for action…

I want to invite you to participate in something a bit different, but equally neat. I invite all readers, friends, and families to join me this Sunday for a trash pick up! Doesn’t sound fun? There will be free coffee from my friends at Neat Coffee and free pastries from my friends at Rye Goods. It will be at Newport Aquatic Center, and there will be kayaks so that participants can go out into the water and look for floating trash. For those who prefer to stick to their own two feet, there will be terrain to cover. Consider it the last hurrah for Plastic Free July!

Mike and I have participated in the monthly trash clean up events organized by Ally from Neat Coffee for the past three months. It’s something we do to continue living our truth. We have been to a different park each time, and each time, we learn something new.

We learn that passerbys are impressed, as well as shocked, when they see us picking up trash.

We get thanked by strangers for our work, which shows us that they acknowledge there is work that needs to be done.

We always find a ton of trash, which also teaches us that there is work to be done, in terms of educating people about the impact they are making on the environment.

There is trash that is purposefully left behind. For example, beer bottles hung up on tree branches, out of reach, which required someone to climb up the tree, and hang them upside down on branches that would support the bottles’ weight.

We learn that we are not the only ones. One of my favorite memories was when we came across another person holding a bag and walking around with one of those extended claws. He saw us and commented, “Someone else is awake.” Yes, we all need to wake up. It seems he picks up trash on the regular too.

We learned that some people feel like other people’s trash is not their responsibility. A couple came across us picking up trash on one occasion, and the man commented, “If you’re looking for trash, there’s always a lot down where the homeless people stay. Just stay on the path to the right and you will reach it. I always see trash there.”

Lastly, we learned that seeing the results is a way bigger motivator than not seeing the results. Seeing a group of people come together for a cause is a bigger inspiration than doing something yourself. And seeing how much trash we collect from a two hour stroll is a better convincer at how much still has yet to be done.

So will you take two hours out of your Sunday, and let the world teach you something too? Together, we can keep-it-neat!

Please RSVPhere so that they have enough kayaks, coffee, and pastries.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

It thrills me that the plastic free trend is circulating the web and filling people’s conscience more and more. There’s nary a day that I am reminded by a fellow blogger or environmentalist about the effects of our daily lifestyle decisions. It seems to be that others are jumping onto the bandwagon too, as more people are following suit. Friends and family occasionally reach out to ask about our KeepCups, and a few have shared that they’ve been inspired to buy their own. So how excited was I when I first learned of Starbuck’s initiative to be more plastic free?

Starbuck’s drinkers have probably heard by now that Starbucks started deviating from the dreaded plastic straws in exchange for a straw-less lid. The lid allows you to drink your favorite cool, summery drinks with an adult lid that has an opening on the side. A little messier, maybe, a lot better for the environment. Or so we are led to believe.

Things to Consider

A more in-depth study on the plastic lids themselves revealed that there is something between 0.32 and 0.88 grams of increase in the amount of plastic in the newer lids when compared to the old lids and straws. In reality, then, more plastic is being created and introduced into the world. Since the plastic lids are brand new (It is cheaper to create plastic parts brand new than it is to create it from recycled plastic materials), they are technically contributing more plastic waste than if we stuck with the traditional straw and lid.

When Starbucks was questioned about the additional weight of the new lids, Starbucks acknowledged its truth. They did bring up a point, which was that the new lids were recyclable, whereas the old straws were not. Unfortunately, that leaves all responsibility to the consumer, who must have the drive to recycle responsibly. Changing the lid does not create a solution. We still need to push consumers to change their mindset about plastic. Awareness is key to the solution. Without that switch, what will end up happening is even more plastic being introduced to the environment.

The Good In All This

The good in all this is that ridding ourselves of plastic straws raises awareness. People who are used to getting drinks with straws will realize that we can do without. Additionally, they will slowly expect to have straws with their drinks less often. Lastly, people will have to think about the reasons behind the disappearances of straws, starting with Starbucks, but hopefully, the trend spread to other restaurants and fast food chains. And when we think about the reasons why, the hope is that we will start to merge into the “how”. How can we also move this forward in our own lives?

Ways You Can Help

There are many ways in which we can help the situation.

Start a conversation with your Starbucks barista. Ask them about their thoughts on the situation. Make it known that you are aware of the difference between lids. Perhaps the customer feedback will have them switching to a new, better solution.

Order your drink without the lid and the straw. With practice, you, too, will be capable of drinking a frappe from a cup or glass, without the spills.

Carry your own re-usable, metal straw. These are the ones that I carry around in my purse.

Carry your own cup. Our favorite one is the Espresso 12 0z. KeepCup, which can be found here. We have matching his and hers cups!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

Hi everyone! I wanted to reach out and invite people to join me for Plastic Free July. Plastic Free July is a movement created to challenge consumers to refuse plastic use in July and is meant to raise awareness of the problems with single-use disposable plastic. The challenge is very easy; Create no plastic waste for the whole month of July! Startinggggg, right now (Happy first!). If you feel as if this is too overwhelming, then maybe take it back a notch and refuse all single-use disposable plastic (consider triple or quadruple used plastics oh-kayed). Why is it that this movement exists? A few facts…

Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.

The average time that a plastic bag is used for is… twelve minutes! Source

Watching the Plastic Ocean documentary on Netflix was such an eye-opener for Mike and I, and for others who we have recommended the documentary to. I think that’s also another good place to start to learn a little bit more.

Meanwhile, I will try to make a weekly suggestion list of ways we could deny ourselves single use plastics in our everyday lives during this month. I have written about bathrooms extensively in the past, but I think it is one of the easiest places where we can cut down plastic waste. So I am writing about it AGAIN. Many products that you find in a bathroom are packaged in plastic containers or bags. Try counting the number of plastic containers in your bathroom right now. Search in every cabinet and drawer, and I am sure you will find more than what you first thought. Here are some tips from related posts, wrangled into one place.

Going for a safety razor it’s the most eco way to shave. They’re made out of stainless steel so they’re recyclable at the end of their life.

DIY deodorant

Ok, you don’t have to DIY, but there are some great natural deodorants out there that help you cut down on aerosols, chemicals and plastic. I personally use Schmidt’s, packaged in a glass jar, to try to limit the plastic packaging.

Go back to soap

Good old soap has been forgotten – but it’s a pretty amazing multi-tasker and can work as a lather for shaving, a cleanser and even shampoo! I wrote about my love for soap once, but if you don’t feel quite ready to make the switch, try choosing refillable aluminum cans for your shampoo and conditioner with Plaine Products. They also released a new face wash and face moisturizer. To get 30% OFF of their new releases, use code PPNEW2018 at checkout. Also, for the first week of July, they will be running a sale for all their other products. To receive 20% OFF, use the code PFJ20 at checkout between July 1 and July 7.

Brush with Bogobrush

There are many toothbrushing options out there, from bamboo to recycled plastic to biodegradable hemp, and more. I personally use Bogobrush, but any of those options are fine. Since all options are manual toothbrushes, make sure to brush well. Here’s a guide if you need a refresher! Use the Bogobrush link on my page to receive your first subscription for FREE.

Tackle your toilet paper

Most toilet paper comes wrapped in plastic (and is made with trees). Go for a bidet, or Who Gives A Crap, which isn’t wrapped in plastic, and which is $10 OFF using my link.

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About me

Hi everyone! My name is Samm. I am a debtist – a dentist who graduated with a lot of student debt. After four years of undergrad and four years of dental school, I ended up with a debt of over $550k, which I then had to start paying back. This led me to a series of life changes and discoveries about myself in my late twenties that shaped my lifestyle into what it is today. Saving money required us to be more frugal, and being more frugal opened up the doors to finding alternative ways to find happiness in things that don’t require consumerism. I now embrace a simple life. I live in OC with my husband, although we prefer to be traveling, and do so when we can. We focus more on experiences rather than material things. Being selective when it comes to purchasing consumer goods, we spend most of our money and time acquiring new skills, picking up new hobbies, learning about new cultures, and exploring the globe. I’ve become more intentional with my life decisions, and am currently working towards buying my freedom from my massive loan, but not at the expense of giving up my life in exchange for grueling work hours. Open to questioning society’s standards of success, I am finding ways to reach my life goals by refusing some things that we take for granted as the norm. Balance is key, and this is my journey towards financial freedom, in the process of discovering what life is really about.

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